Convertible stock and freight car



J. EDMAN. CONVERTIBLE STOCK AND FREIGHT CAR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6. 1920.

Patented Nov 21, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. EDMAN. CONVERTIBLE STOCK AND FREIGHT CAR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6, 19 20.

Patnted Nov. 21, 1922;,

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

UNITED STATES 1,436,487 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN EDMAN, F MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TOTPATBICK: M. POWER,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

convnnrrnnn s'rocx AND rnnren'r can.

Application. filed: August 6,

Tamil. whom it may concern Be it known that. 1, JOHN Enanin, citizen ofthe United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin.and

State o'li Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Convertible Stock and Freight Cars; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to: be a full, clear,

and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the. art to which. it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to box cars and is directed to theimprovement of the side door structures. Generally stated, the inventionconsists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafterdescribed and defined inthe claims.

Box cars for .hipping various kinds of.

goods or materials must be completely closedstructures, while for theshipping of live stock, they should be more than well venti lated, thatis, should have large openings or air passages through the side dooropenings through which light, as well as airmay pass in a very freemanner.

My invention combines sliding gate bars with the sliding side doors ofbox cars in a novel manner, hereinafter described, and

whereby the side door openings may be entirely closed, entirely opened,or closed by moreor less of the gate bars, at will, and whereby thedesired. results above indicated may be accomplished.

The invention is illustrated in: the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1. is h side elevation showing the central portion of a l ox carand; illustrating my invention applied thereto; v

Fig. 2 is a horizonal section taken on the line 2-2 01? Fig. '1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on: the line 3-3 of hi 1, some partsbeing broken a way, and the parts being shown on a larger scale than inFig. 1;

Fig. i is a :t'ragmentary perspective, 50 some parts being sectionedillustrating the manner in which the gate bars are interlocked to thesliding side door and one of the door posts; and

Fig. 5 a fragmentary perspective show- 1920. Serial No. 401,758.

ing a portion of the door and means for locking the same tothe carbody".

The body of the box car is indicated by the numeral (3 and its side dooropenings by the numeral 7'.

Each door opening 7 is adapt-ed to be opened and closed bya sliding sidedoor 8 secured to horizontal upper and lower sliding bars 9 and- 10arranged to move, respectively, above and below the door opening 7. T heupper bar 9 is arranged to slide through guide brackets 11 fixed to theside of the car, while the lower bar 10 is shown as arranged to slidethrough a guide bracket 12 and guide lug 13 securedon the side of thecar body. The upper bar 9 is about three times as long as the door 8 iswide, and the said door is secured to the intermediate portion thereof.The lower bar 10 is a little more than twice as long as the door 8 iswide and the said door is secured to the right hand portionv thereof,directions being taken in respect tov Figs. 1 and 2.

The door 8, at its left hand edge, as viewed in Fig. 1, is provided witha laterally inwardly projecting flange allorded by an angle iron 171iriveted, bolt-ed, or otherwise rigidly secured thereto in such mannerthat the flange oi? said angle will engage the door post 15 when thedoor is moved outward, or to an extreme open position.

Mounted to slide through openings in the door post 16 that is oppositeto the door post 15, and to move within the side of the car between theinner and outer sheathing, is a plurality of horizontally disposedvertically spaced gate bars. 17. At their outer ends, these gate barsare provided with latch plates 18 formed on their under edges with locknotches 19, and, at their outer ends, with undercut cam surfaces 20.

The door posts 15 are provided with pockets- 21 with which the beveled,or undercut, ends of the latch plates 18 of gate bars 17, engage. Theinwardly projecting flange of the angle bar 1 1 is provided with slots22 through. which the outer end of the latch plates'18 may be projected,so as to engage their notches 19 with the said flange, and therebyinterlock the gate bars to said angle 14: for sliding movements with thedoor 8.

The pockets 21 in the post. 15 are so located that when the ends of thelatch plates 18 are, by opening movement of the door 8,

y when free, will moved into the pockets 21, the latter will hold thesame down and positively interlocked to the flange of the angle bar 14,so that it will be impossible to disconnect the gate bars from the door,or from thepost- 15, when the door is in extreme open position.-

The gate bars are adapted to be slid back into the wall of the the doorpassage completely open, or entirely free for passage therethrough.lVhen the door is slid to the left, or slightly toward a closedposition, the outer ends of the gate bars may be raisedso that theirlatch plates may be freely moved endwise, either into or out ofinterlocking engagement with the flange of the angle bar 14. Ittherefore follows that all or any desired number of the gate bars may beinterlocked to the door. Obviously, for keeping hogs in a car, more ofthe gate bars will be required than for keeping cattle, for example,within the car. The above arrangement provides for such, and otheradjustments. Obviously, when the gate bars are locked to the door flangeand the door is secured in its extreme open position, as abovedescribed, there is no possibility of animals within the cardisconnecting the gate bars from the door and door post.

lVhen the door 8 is slid, .its guide bars 9 and 10 move with it throughthe guiding devices described. F or looking the door, at will, either ina closed position, or in an extreme open posit-ion, I provide a lockdevice which comprises an upright rock shaft 23 mounted in bearings 24;,and 25 secured on the outer side of the car body, preferably to the doorpost 16, bymeans of screws, bolts, or other suit-able devices, Rockshaft 23 is capable of slight vertical, as well as oscillatorymovements, and it is provided at its upper and lower ends witheccentriclock lugs 26 that are engageable -with lock notches, or detents 27 and28 formed in the door carrying and guiding bars 8 and 9. When lock lugs26 are engaged with notches 27, the door 8 will be locked in its extremeopen position, but when said lugs 26 are en gaged with notches 28, thedoor will be locked in its closed position.

Rock shaft 23 is provided with an arm 29. the hub of which is rigidlysecured to said rock shaft and is provided with a beveled undersurface30. that is engageable with av correspondingly beveled upper surface ofthe shaft bearing 25. The arrangement of the said beveled surfaces issuch. that, under the action of gravity, the rock shaft 23,

swing into a position to engage its eccentric lock lugs 26 with thenotches 27 or 28, according to which are aligned therewith. In its freeend, arm 29 has a slot 31 that adapts it to be passed over a perforatedlug 32 secured on the outer surface of the door 8, when the said door isin car body, so as to leave a closed position, and lugs 26 are engagedwith notches 28. Either a padlock or a seal passed. through the lug 32when'it is projected through the arm 29 will serve to lock the latterand thelugs 26 in position to positivelynlock orholdthe door in itsclosed position.

Itwill be'noted that, in view of the above described tendency of therock shaft 23 to swinginto a door closing position, it will hold thelock lugs 26 against the bars 9 and 10 when the door '8 is in anintermediate position, and will automatically swing its lugs into thealigned notches 27 and 28, so that the door will be automaticallylatched or locked in either extreme position to which it is moved.

lVhat I claim is:

1.. The combination with a. car body having a door opening, of a doormounted to slide on said car body to open and close said door opening,and a plurality of gate bars slidably mounted in the car body formovements across said door opening and having separate detachableinterlocking engagementwith said door, and whereby they may be slid withthe door or disconnected therefrom.

2. The combination with a car body having a door opening, of a doormounted to slide on said .car body. to open and close said door opening,a plurality of gate bars slidably mounted in a car body for movementsacross said door opening and each having a detachable connection withsaid door and whereby they may he slid with the door or disconnectedtherefrom, and means positively interlocking said bars to said door whenthe latter is in an extreme open position.

3. The combination with a car bodyhaving a side door opening, of asliding door movable to open and close said door opening and providedwith an'inwardly projecting flange at its inner edge, and a plurality ofindependently movable gate bars slidably mounted in the car body formovements across .said door opening, one of the door posts havingpockets to receive the extended ends of said gate bars, and a flangecarried by theinner edge of said door and provided with slots throughwhich the extended ends of said gate bars are adapted to be projectedinto the pockets of said door post, saidgate bars having interlockingengagement with said flange and when engaged with the pockets of saidpost when the door is open, being held thereby positively interlocked tosaid door flange.

4.. The combination with a car body having a side door opening, of adoor slidably mounted on said car body to open and close said (1001'opening, an angle bar secured to one edge of said door with its flangeprojecting laterally inward to overlap the adjacent door "post, saidflange having slots and said post having pockets substantially alignedtherewith, and a plurality of independently movable gate bars slidablymounted in the car body for movements across the door opening andprovided at their free ends with notched latch plates that are freelymovable in and out through the slots of said door flange, forinterlocking engagement 'with said flange, when said door is moved toits extreme open position, said pockets operating to hold said gate barsinterlocked to said door flange when said gate is in an extreme openposition.

5. The combination with a car body having a door opening, of upper andlower bars slidably mounted on the car body, respectively above andbelow said door opening, a door secured to said upper and lower bars, anupright rock shaft journaled in hearings on said car body adjacent toone side of said door opening, said rock shaft having eccentric locklugs and said door supporting bars having detents with which said locklugs arc engageable.

(3. The combination with a car body having a door opening, of upper andlower bars slida'bly mounted on the car body, respectively above andbelow said door opening, a door secured to said upper and lower bars, anupright rock shaft journaled in bearings on said car body adjacent toone side of said door opening, said rock shaft having eccentric locklugs and said door supporting bars having detents with which said locklugs are engageable, both when said door is in a closed position andwhen said door is in an open position.

7. The combination with a car body having a door opening, of upper andlower bars sliitlably mounted on the car body, respectively, above andbelow said door opening, a door secured to said upper and lower bars, anupright rock shaft on said car body adjacent to one side of said dooropening, bearings in which said shaft is journaled, one of which has al'iev'eled upper surface, said rock shaft having eccentric lock lugsand. said door supporting bars having detents with. which saidlockl'lugsare engageable, said rock shaft having a hub with a beveled undersurfacewith which the beveled surface of said beveled shaft bearing is engaged.the said beveled surfaces acting under the force of gravity toautomatically move said lock lugs into interlocking engagement with thedetents of said upper and lower bars.

8. The combination with a car body having a door opening, of upper andlower bars slidably mounted on the car body, respectively above andbelow said door opening, a door secured to said upper and lower bars, anupright rock shaft on said car body adjacent to one side of said dooropening, bearings in which said shaft is journaled, one of which has abeveled upper surface, said rock shaft having eccentric lock lugs andsaid door supporting bars having detents with which said lock lugs areengageable, said rock shaft having a hub with a beveled midersurfacewith which the beveled surface of said beveled shaft bearing is engaged,the said beveled surfaces acting under the force of gravity toautomatically move said lock lugs into interlocking engagement with thedetents of said upper and lower bars, both when said door is in a closedand in an open position, said rock shaft further having a radiallyprojecting arm with a slot therein, and said door having a perforatedlug with which the slot of said arm is engageable when the door is in aclosed position.

9. The combination with a box car having the usual door opening and asliding door closing the same, a closure structure of spaced membersnormally attached to the side of the door and. slidable across the dooropening when said sliding door is open, and means for varying the numberof said spaced members used.

10. The combination with a box car having the usual door opening and asliding door closing the same, of a closure structure of spaced membersnormally attached to the side of the door and slidable across the dooropening but separately detachable from said door when the said slidingdoor is open. and means for locking said closure in position across thedoor opening when the door is in fully opened position.

11. In a box car structure having the usual door opening, a sliding doormovable to close said opening, a closure of spaced horizontal memberseach detachably connected at one of its ends to the door on one sidethereof adapted to be moved across the door opening as thesliding dooris opened, and means for supporting and spacing the other end of saidhorizontal members.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN EDMAN.

